Residents of Cincinnati will always remember this day in 1937, when the city had its worst flood in history. Crosley Field, home of the Cincinnati Reds, was also affected by the deluge.
It all began in early January. The wettest month recorded in Ohio history came in January 1937, causing the Ohio River to flood. Damage occurred from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on through Cairo, Illinois. Approximately one million people were left homeless, with $500 million in damages occurring (close to $9 billion today). Heavy rains led to the Ohio River reaching a level of 80 feet on this day in 1937, causing twelve square miles of the city to be flooded.
That included the home of the Cincinnati Reds, Crosley Field. Home plate was covered by as much as 21 feet of water, and the entire lower grandstand was under water. One of the more iconic images of the flooding involved Reds pitchers Lee Grissom and Gene Schott rowing a boat out to the pitcher’s mound from the center field wall.
This was not the first time that the field flooded. Back in 1912, just three weeks before the field was set to open for the first time, the field was flooded by the Mill Creek Flood. However, they were able to get the field ready for Opening Day on April 11, to a crowd of 26,336 spectators.
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Fortunately, even though this flood was far worse, there were still over two months until Opening Day. The flood waters eventually began to recede, and on February 5, the level dropped below the flood mark in quite a few areas. Opening Day was unaffected, as the field was playable once again in April.
Despite being far worse than the flood in 1912, it was far less tragic. Far more damage was done, but only ten people lost their lives due to the flooding. With the Mill Creek Flood, 467 people had been killed. As the creek had a history of flooding, it was eventually routed to the Mill Creek Tube, carrying the tributary under the city of Erie, Pennsylvania.
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Under various names, Crosley Field had been the home of the Cincinnati Reds for almost sixty years. But on this day in 1937, a flood led to one of the more iconic pictures in baseball history.